More Info:

For the final results of all completed phases of the election, please see here.

At stake in this election:

543 seats in the People's Assembly (Lok Sabha)

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN *

Head of Government: Prime Minister Atal Behari VAJPAYEE

Assembly: India has a bicameral Parliament (Sansad) consisting of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) with 250 seats and the People's Assembly (Lok Sabha) with 545 seats.

* The electoral college consists of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by an electoral college to serve a 5-year term.

In the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) 250 members are to serve 6-year terms*. In the People's Assembly (Lok Sabha), 543 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms and 2 members are appointed by the president.

* Up to 12 seats are appointed by the president and the remaining members are chosen by elected members of the state and territorial assemblies

Main parties in the electoral race:

Party: National Democratic Alliance (NDA)*

Leader: Atal Bijari VAJPAYEE, George FERNANDES, Ramakrishna HEDGE

Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 182

Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 194

Party: Indian National Congress (INC)

Leader: Sonia GANDHI

Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 112

Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 141

Party: Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM)

Leader: Harkishan Singh SURJEET

Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 32

Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 32

Party: Telegu Desam Party (TDP)

Leader: N. Chandrababu NAIDU

Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 29

Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 11

Party: Samajwadi Party (SP)

Leader: Mulayam Singh YADAV

Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 26

Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 20

Party: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)

Leader: Laloo Prasad YADAV

Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 20

Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 17

Party: Shiv Sena

Leader: Bal THACKERAY

Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 15

Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 6

Party: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)

Leader: K. KARUNANIDHI

Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 12

Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 6

Party: All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)

Leader: JAYALALITHA

Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 10

Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 18

* The NDA is composed of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Samata Party, and the Lok Shakti Party

Last Parliamentary election:

The last elections to the Lok Sabha last were held on February 16 to March 7, 1998.

Population and number of registered voters:

Population: 1,034,976,626 (1999)

Registered Voters: 605,880,192 (1998)

Gender Data:

· Female Population: 498,925,038 (1999)

· Is India a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (30 July 1980)

· Has India ratified CEDAW: Yes (9 July 1993)

· Gender Quota: No

· Female candidates in this election: Yes

· Number of Female Parliamentarians: 49 (following the 1999 elections)

· Human Development Index Position: 130 (2014)

· Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

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